28
Jan '21
Seek Ye First
28
Jan '21
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of pain and brokenness in our world. We are barraged by hurts and sorrows on a daily basis. Shootings, hunger, and pain permeate our world. When we encounter these painful reminders of sin, it is difficult to hold on to the hope that God is still at work. But He is. He wants to see things set right.
While we have to live in this deeply hurting and broken world, God doesn’t want us to feel hopeless. His desire is for us to seek His goodness and His kingdom. He wants to repair the places of deep sorrow and pain. When we chase after Him and His will, we get to be a small part of the larger story He is writing. We get to see some of that brokenness restored and lives healed.
What is God asking you to do today to grow His kingdom? How could you be an encouragement to those who are hurting?
When I read this devotion I loved it. I pray you are encouraged to ask yourself those two very important question. What is God asking me to do today to grow His kingdom and How can I be an encouragement to those who are hurting? Less of me and more of Him. Amen!
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
26
Jan '21
Rest in Him
26
Jan '21
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10)
The neighborhood was quiet and still except for the melody of one small bird. He wasn’t bothered by the darkness or troubled by the storms and devastation of the previous night. He was waiting for the sunrise, singing his heart out.
Isn’t hope like that little bird? It sings out in the midst of adversity. It isn’t dependent on circumstances and it isn’t a natural response.
Hope comes from knowing Jesus, the One, who desires to give you a future and a hope. Like the little bird singing in the still and quiet dawn, God calls to you to be still and quiet, so that He can speak to you and sing to your soul.
However, to be still is more than just being quiet. It is ceasing to strive to be in control of your life. By knowing God, you can rest in Him and trust His perfect plan.
What can you praise God for today?
I was blessed by this devotion. I pray after reading this, you are encouraged to rest in Him and know beyond all doubt, God is working on your behalf.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
21
Jan '21
Dismissed and Misunderstood
21
Jan '21
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. (1 Peter 2:4)
Jesus was a precious and priceless King, but many never saw it.
Instead they saw him through the lens of their flesh and not with Kingdom eyes.
When people reject us or don’t see our value, it is hard not to accept their reality as our own.
Jesus was dismissed and misunderstood; how much more will you experience this?
We are being built into spiritual beings, layer by layer, inch by inch.
Don’t let being misunderstood cause you fear or confusion. Your Heavenly Father never loses sight of you.
Is my identity in the thoughts of people or the word of God?
God says you were, “fearfully and wonderfully made.”! (Psalm 139
This devotion blessed me. So often Christians are rejected and misunderstood, especially now as we watch the world around us wax worse and worse. It’s so easy to be filled with fear and confusion but The Bible says in Luke 21:28, When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Don’t be discouraged be determined. God has you.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
19
Jan '21
Let Him Lead
19
Jan '21
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. (1 Peter 1:24)
Flesh: the fragile, temporary things that will always change, wither and cannot last forever.
We grieve over the job we didn’t get, the house we can’t buy and the relationships that change.
God says these things are like grass, beautiful for a short season then gone.
He sees what we can’t see. This life is a mere breath or vapor compared to our eternity and is not worthy of grief or sorrow.
We have earthly minds which make it hard to grasp eternity.
God calls you into the depth of Him asking for childlike faith. Your earth life is only preparation for the eternal life.
I open my hands and release plans. I release expectations. I release agendas. I will consciously let you lead, God.
When I read this devotion it reminded me of something I just read. When you release expectations and let God lead, you are free to enjoy things for what they are instead of what you think they should be. Let go and let God.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
14
Jan '21
Hunger and Thirst
14
Jan '21
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
Do you ever wonder why life isn’t like a Hallmark movie? Do you ever wish it was? Things always seem to work out perfectly for the characters in those movies. But that isn’t life.
Life is tough sometimes. And when you seek the wrong things, it just leaves you wanting more to fill the void.
However, God’s word tells us that when we give thanks to Him and turn our hearts to Him, we find fulfillment. His word is His love letter to us. It is living and new every day.
He wants you to invest time in it. He wants to meet your heart’s desires at the deepest level of your soul. God’s presence is always with you. His ways are higher than your ways. To know Him, you must spend time with Him.
What are you thirsting for? Spend time with the living God of the universe and thirst no more. He desires to spend time with you!
After reading this devotion it reminded me of something I read, “There’s a whole new frontier laid out in front of you and me. It’s called 2021. It’s a good land, filled with opportunity and good things”. What am I thirsting for? Answer that question as you venture out into this new frontier called 2021.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
12
Jan '21
A Merry Heart
12
Jan '21
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)
I recently read this devotion and it blessed me. I felt it needed to be shared.
Have you ever had a friend or a person who lifts your spirits? A person with a cheerful heart is kind, encouraging, and helpful. They have an enthusiasm for the job at hand and zeal or zest for life. They just seem to bring joy to those around them.
God’s word tells us that a joyful heart is good medicine because it heals the soul and mind.
But negativity and cruel words bring strife and destruction. They crush the spirit and dry up our bones.
Sometimes, life’s trials do that to us as well. But, the Lord tells us that we are not meant to carry around burdens, hurts, and unforgiveness in our hearts. Holding onto bitterness and anger only destroys us. By hiding hurt and stuffing it we don’t heal, and that prevents us from living fully. God wants to use our pain for good.
Did you know that to make perfume they have to crush the flowers? The process of perfume-making resembles what happens when we face a trial. Life may seem sweet one second and then something happens to crush us
But God can use our pain and disappointments, trials, and suffering to create in us something beautiful.
As you examine your heart, are you good medicine to those around you? Are you a beautiful fragrance to others?
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
07
Jan '21
Stand Strong in HIM
07
Jan '21
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 25:8)
Do you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders? Do you feel like a hamster on a wheel unable to get off? Perhaps you can’t see anything good in your life, because all you feel is disappointment, grief, betrayal, or pain.
Depression, discouragement, and suffering happen to everyone. Each of us has different struggles or painful life circumstances that cause us to bottom out from time to time.
However, God does not intend for us to live under the weight of pain and suffering for long periods. While we may feel hopeless, God is the God of hope. He desires to comfort us. He wants to be near us. His word even tells us that He will wipe away the tears from all our faces.
However, God does not intend for us to live under the weight of pain and suffering for long periods. While we may feel hopeless, God is the God of hope. He desires to comfort us. He wants to be near us. His word even tells us that He will wipe away the tears from all our faces.
Ask the Lord to lift you out of your despair and give you a firm place to stand strong in Him. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
I’m sure most people answered yes to at least one of the two questions within the first paragraph of this devotion but what I love so much about this devotion is what it says in the final paragraph, have peace, be of good cheer, He has overcome the world. Hallelujah! Welcome 2021! We win!
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
05
Jan '21
Pray Back Scripture
05
Jan '21
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)
In Psalm 27, David cries out to God and reminds Him of how He protected and provided for him in the past. What a beautiful reminder to us to recall those things that God has done for us in the past.
When we pray back scripture and remember God’s goodness to us, it lifts our spirits. It gives us the encouragement we need to keep going, even under challenging circumstances.
David, himself tells God that he is turning his enemies over to Him. How often do we hold onto our worries and troubles, even when we have prayed about them? God doesn’t intend for us to carry those.
While we may not have armies coming after us today, as David did, we have diseases, financial stressors, heart pains, and emotional troubles.
However, we can go to God and ask with confidence for His goodness to us. We can expect Him to come through for us and be with us in our pain. While the outcome or answer may not be what we are anticipating or wanting, we can trust that God’s answer will always be best.
How can God use your pain to grow you so that you will be more effective for him?
When I read this devotion it blessed me. As we go into this new year may we remember this devotion, “We can trust that God’s answer will always be best”. God will always provide, it just might look different than what we had in mind.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
31
Dec '20
A Tranquil Heart
31
Dec '20
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. (Proverbs 14:30)
The definition of rot is to decay or the action of decomposing. Have you ever smelled spoiled milk or rotting food? It is a putrid stench. It can make you sick to your stomach. Proverbs tells us that envy will rot our bones. Envy looks at another and desires what they have. Envy is so destructive that it robs us of joy. It steals our peace of mind and causes bitterness in our hearts.
When we look at another and ache for their life, we fail to appreciate our own. While someone else’s life may sound great to us, we do not know the struggles they may be facing. However, Proverbs gives us the solution to envy. It tells us that a tranquil heart gives life. Tranquility means we are calm and quiet. We are not fretting over what we don’t have.
Lord, give me a tranquil heart, one that looks to you with gratefulness. Replace any envy I may be experiencing with an appreciation for all you have done for me. Amen.
This devotion is full of such truth. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about and times are not always the same, the grass is not always green. The grass is greenest where it is watered so when crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be. Start counting your blessings, big or small and you will quickly realize the grass under your feet has been green the entire time.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
29
Dec '20
Kindness, Compassion and Love
29
Dec '20
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. (Philippians 2:3)
Selfishness focuses on my interests above the needs and interests of others. When we operate out of a place of entitlement, we fail to look at other’s needs. In this verse, Paul says selfishness is related to arrogance, or empty conceit. When we build ourselves up by tearing another down, we fail to show the love of Christ.
However, God is so good. He always has a remedy. He tells us to be kind, compassionate, and loving to one another. When we put the needs of others above ourselves, we become more like Christ. Jesus came to serve and not be served. He is to be our example.
Lord, help me be like you. Let my heart be that of your servant. Help me to love others as you did, appreciating them, showing compassion and kindness to all. Amen.
When I read this devotion it blessed me. So often we as a society are me focused. I am reminded of a quote, “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” Remember that and this devotion, the next time you have an opportunity to show kindness. No act of kindness, compassion or love, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!